The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘PER979’.
The new Poinsettia a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Encinitas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new mid-season flowering Poinsettia cultivars having strong stems, attractive flower bract coloration, uniform plant habit and excellent post-production longevity.
The new Poinsettia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in December 1997, of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ‘745’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,109, as the female, or seed, parent, with a proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima. Willd. identified as N-33, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar PER979 was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Encinitas, Calif., in December, 1998.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by terminal cuttings propagated in a controlled environment in Encinitas, Calif., since July, 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.